Chapter 314: Another resident

As soon as the Golden Egg vanished followed by the Guardian Spirit, the golden glimmer and the unique qualities in the air faded along with it. The air slowly started to cool down, losing its magical, regenerative qualities, the natural dampness began to mix back into it.

As the object vanished, transported into his magical inventory space, Aiden remained standing, looking at the now average stone elevated platform in front of him with a lost, dazed gaze. Lost in thought he absentmindedly swiped the incoming notifications away. He was quite aware that he has fulfilled the requirements for the Main Quest, but he was in no state of mind to bother with it right now. He couldn't care about the rewards, or the feeling of the empowering warmth that continued to spread through inside him, strengthening his flesh and body even further. 

No. Right now, he had to confirm something. He needed to understand. He couldn't move on if he didn't speak up his mind.

Taking a deep breath of air, he took a moment to store it in his diaphragm before slowly exhaling it.

As his mind calmed down a bit after the long heaving sigh, he called out a name in his mind.

'Enya. We need to talk.' His tone was cold, there was no trace of his usual cheerful or elated mood whenever he addressed his System Guide. 

However, there was no response this time, despite knowing she was aware and nearby.

She was avoiding him, that was obvious, but this time Aiden wouldn't just let things go like this. 

He sat down on the ground cross-legged, placed his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes. In the next moment along with the inhale of a new gasp of air, he submerged into his subconscious world, his Soul Space.

In what supposed to be an endless dark void, he appeared above a small speck of bright green colored speck, a little paradise standing against the darkness. Descending from above, he was surprised as his feet touched something that very similar in texture to dewy, fresh grass in the outside world. He could see a paradisical clearing with a small rocky formation at its center. 

Sitting on one of the largest stone pebble, he saw the red-haired short lady that he instinctually knew was the inherited blade, Ryingtarth. She was smiling, letting out occasional giggles, she was talking to a floating white shining ball, who was obviously her 'hiding' guide.

Although they had to notice his arrival, they showed no change, neither of them seemed to be giving him a glance.

Shaking his head, with a small smirk curving the edges of his lips, Aiden approached the two.

"Quite a place you made here as your new home, Ryingtarth." He greeted, interrupting their cheery conversation.

"It sure is, Master. Someone had to bring some life to this place as it seemed you were keen to keep it in this despairing state. Were you intent to keep their residents feel like they are in a prison?" The red-haired child-like girl responded, turning away from the floating ball of light meeting her master's gaze with a cheeky grin of her own.

The ball of light, Enya, didn't respond but remained still. Whilst none of her features were currently visible due to a lack of a body, her actions were strange, to say the least.

"You are right. This place was far too empty, I admit. At least you have an empty canvas to work with." He returned her cheeky retort with a gentle smile, before focusing his attention on the silently floating ball.

He sighed seeing the emotional state of his partner. Reaching for his temples already prepared for the incoming headache, he spoke, addressing both.

"Excuse me for interrupting your discourse, but I needed Enya for a bit. I hope you don't mind Ryg."

A wide smile appeared on the girl's face when Aiden gave her a nickname. She didn't mind it, no, on the contrary, she seemed to be very happy about this fact.

"Sure, go ahead." She waved her hand dismissively. Turning away from the two, she stood up, but before walking away, she turned her head sideways. "However, before you bash her to the ground with your questions. Know that she is not the only one residing in this place. There is another… 'resident'..." With that said, her figure vanished from their sight, appearing at a faraway section of this dark place…

Ryg's remark caused confusion to spread through Aiden once again. He remembered his hectic battle in the Pocket World, where he seemingly lost control and turned bedridden for several days. Could that be related to what she just said? 

"[Aiden. I know what you want to ask, but…]" Enya's meek voice brought Aiden back from his thoughts. He raised his right palm in the air, turning the ball of light silent in turn as he interjected.

"No. I don't want to hear the same excuse. Just answer me… Is it true what he said?"

"[Aiden… I… I...am…]" Before she could muster the strength to respond, suddenly the entire void rumbled. A bolt of golden lightning struck from high above distorting the space between them. In the next moment, Aiden's spiritual figure was ejected, his consciousness forcefully returned to reality.

At the same time, a very strange, a garbled notification appeared in front of him, blocking Aiden's vision. The contents were barely readable, however, the note still seemed to be important judging by the red color and the blaring alert sound rampaging in his mind.

[Warning: Do not %÷$!? /!+§ or $?[]@&! It is forbidden to ?!%"§/% !!!]

Just as abruptly as it appeared, the strange garbled text disappeared in the next moment, and whilst it did not explain much, it did reveal the fact the topic they were talking about was important to the whole mystery surrounding him.

There was someone or something behind of all, tied to his soul, his existence. That was now certain. Something strangely sensitive to guarding some of the secrets, keeping everything in its already set path.

[Aiden… I am sorry… There are certain… limitations, that I must adhere to. I am your assigned guide, nothing more. I am here to help you achieving greatness and the required strength to reach it.] Enya's emotionless voice came to his mind. It was devoid of any emotion, it was dry, monotone, insipid.

Before Aiden could respond, her presence vanished, receding to the depth of his soul, which as he just realized no longer could dive back to. 

As if serving as a distraction, the bell sound signaling the arrival of a notification rang in his mind, bringing him back from his thoughts, blocking his view once again. 

It was the same exact message he had dismissed previously, the quest update notification came back, but this time, strangely, it had a new change. Something he had not expected.

[The Main Quest: The Secrets of the Demon Grotto has been updated!

Objective: -Find and Explore the Demon Grotto (2 / 2 - Explore the Grotto and Reach the end - Completed!)

-Uncover its Secret (1/1 - Completed!)

-Earn its owner's acceptance (1/1 - Completed!)

-Remove the intruder from the Sanctum before he dies - (Time Gated: Remaining time: 00 hours 14 minutes 57 seconds)

Optional: Merge with the Guardian (Warning: The feat will require the simultaneous activation and use of the Primal Absorb racial skill empowered with the Blessing of Ioris effect. Caution: The strain on the host's core will be immense! - Considered Completed, Egg has been collected, the reward will be provided once the merger is done)]

Seeing the new, fourth required objective that just appeared startled Aiden. He looked at the opaque floating screen with a confused expression, mumbling to himself.

"Intruder? What intruder? The guys are defending the entrance, nobody could get-" Then it dawned on him. There was one way too eager human who could potentially get past his guards.

"Drake…" He sighed exasperatedly. Throughout this long night, that human caused several headaches already. While his heart was in the right place, and he could sort of appreciate that he came after him, it was getting tiresome of continuously having to deal with the results of his actions.

He sighed once again, as he stood up from the floor, and turned towards the door. The timer wasn't generous, and the path back up would be quite long. 

Giving one last scan to the small room, Aiden still wasn't sure how to feel. He had learned so much, yet he was still in the dark. He now had a goal, that while wasn't set by himself, it was still something he realized he needed to do. 

The other sanctums, hidden in the worlds held pieces of information, memories of his parent's and in consequence, his own past life. 

He was also hoping that somewhere along this long and probably arduous journey he will also learn the truth behind his transmigration to the modern world, his 'life' there, and why and how was he pulled back. Was his whole life just an illusion? Are those people real? 

Then also, the existence of Enya, who was she exactly? Was she only a guide assigned to him by that god, or was there more to the story? Also, who or what was that force that expelled him, and prevented them from talking about the matter?

While there were many questions that got their long-awaited answers in this underground, run-down sanctum, they also created countless more...